The Lost Art of Second Chances (19 page)

“It will be a girl. She will look like Belladonna. Of this, I am certain,
bellissima
,” Paolo answered, in that maddening way of old people when they think they have more wisdom than the young and don’t want to face any arguments about pesky little things like facts.

“Well, I guess we’ll know soon if he was right, eh, baby?” Lucy talked to her growing belly as Frankie walked beside her like a feline guardian angel. Perhaps he was. Perhaps Nonna prompted him to guard her today. She wandered among the rows, enjoying the sun on her bare shoulders, and gathering the fresh, rich ingredients for her last batch of summer sauce this year. She made her way slowly back to the house—Lucy couldn’t do anything fast these days. And made her way into the kitchen, stopping to stretch her aching lower back. Lucy salted the eggplant and started chopping when the first mild contraction hit.

“Oh boy, baby mine. Hold on until I make the sauce.” Lucy laughed but tried to hurry a bit. Her doctor warned her that her second baby would come much faster than her first endless labor with Juliet. When all the ingredients nestled in the saucepot, she timed the contractions as about seven minutes apart and coordinated with the doctor. She got herself ready to go, made a cup of tea, and stirred the sauce while she waited for Jack. In a few moments, he burst through the door, with Jenny behind him.

“Oh good, you’re here. The sauce is almost ready.” Lucy smiled at them both.

“Sauce!” Jack cried. “Forget the sauce!”

“Jack, calm down,” said Jenny. “She’ll be fine. He was a nightmare when I was in labor with the boys.”

“Yes, I just want to eat my sauce before I go to the hospital,” Lucy answered as her water broke and splashed all over the floor. “Oops. Better hurry.”

“They won’t let her eat anything once we get there,” Jenny said, as she found a dishtowel, spread it on the seat, and guided Lucy to the chair. While Jack stood in the doorframe, gulping for air, Jenny ladled up the al dente pasta and a good helping of sauce for each of them. She pushed Jack into a chair at the table and efficiently packed the leftovers into the fridge.

Lucy took a bite and smiled at Jack. “Remember when we ate this same lunch last year?”

Jack smiled rather wanly back and nodded before burying his head in his shaking hands.

“Did you ever think we’d end up like this?” Lucy waved at her swollen belly and the wedding rings hanging next to her silver locket on a chain around her neck. Jack smiled at her, lighting up his whole face.

“I hoped so,” Jack answered, his hand clasped in hers. Jenny sniffled and swiped at her eyes with a dishtowel.

“What can I say? I’m a sap! I love happy endings.”

And when Rose Belladonna Hamilton made her appearance at the local hospital an indecent amount of time later, she gave both her parents a very happy ending indeed.

The End

No book is written in a vacuum. This book would not be here without the many sacrifices my husband and son made during the writing of it. My husband is my very own real-life hero and my son is my reason for everything.

Many thanks to my wonderful editor, Bev Katz Rosenbaum; beta support from Karen Lawson of The Proof Is in the Reading; and for copy-editing, Alastair Stephens of StoryWonk. And also to my dear friend, Hannah, who corrected my abysmal Italian.

To my great delight, this book is part of the Amazon Kindle Scout program, a crowd-sourcing publishing platform. Many thanks to the amazing Amazon Kindle Scout team, especially Megan and Paul for their assistance with the manuscript.

No writer gets by without writer friends to keep her sane, brainstorm with them, and talk about the characters as if they are real. Heather and Ashley, you’re the best!

For my beta readers, who waded through multiple drafts, thank you for helping me make this book the best it could be. Heather, Meredith, Paula, and Glenn. Thanks!

Much thanks and love to my uncle and godfather, Larry Fedorchak, for the summer sauce recipe.

Much love and thanks to my aunt Karen Fedorchak without whom I would not have experienced Mike’s Pastry’s in Boston’s North End.

With love and thanks to my son, my husband, my parents, and my sister for their constant unwavering support.

It’s always amazing to me how a book comes together from separate threads of inspiration. My first story glimpse of this book was of Lucy, in the first scene, making summer sauce and proclaiming she needed a lover. When I started to write this story, I didn’t know who Lucy was and why she felt she needed a lover. But, it was November 1, 2011 and it was time to start NaNoWriMo 2011. I needed a story, so off we went.

Applebury is loosely based on the small town of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Mikes Pastries really does exist in the newly revitalized North End of Boston. If you ever get the chance, go enjoy a cannoli!

I hadn’t been writing long—only a few pages—when Nonna Belladonna appeared wholesale. We were off to Italy. I have never been to Italy—it’s long been a dream destination for me and my husband—and I knew next to nothing about Italy in the Second World War

As the Germans retreated, through the remainder of 1943 and 1944, they occasionally attacked various towns. As I was developing Bella’s story, I heard CNN report on the story of San Pancrazio. On 29 June 1944, German soldiers attacked the tiny mountaintop village, killing 73 men and destroying the village. The horror of San Pancrazio became the basis for Belladonna’s fictional hometown, Ali d’Angelo, and Paolo’s story. Ali d’Angelo translates to Angel’s Wings, an appropriate name for a tiny hamlet in the clouds.
Here is the CNN story

Ali d’Angelo, as written about in this book, does not exist. But, the horrors that are described in the book and the wholesale destruction of towns throughout Tuscany and the rest of Italy at the end of World War II are adapted from survivor’s accounts of German army’s aggression against civilians after Italy’s surrender in 1943. Ali d’Angelo, Belladonna, and Paolo are creations of my own imagination but they could have lived and could have suffered the same fate as so many did.

Art and other priceless cultural treasures are often victims of war too. The Monuments Men, made famous by the recent George Clooney movie for their better-known work in France, were also quite busy in Italy. Bella’s love interest, Paolo LaRosa, works with the Monuments Men and, as she has quite a warren of deep caves in her vineyard; they meet when Paolo and the Monuments Men want to secrete art treasures there. Paolo himself did not exist, except in my imagination, but the Monuments Men did. The books I relied on to learn about their mission were:

Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nations Treasures from the Nazis
by Robert M. Edsel.

The Monuments Men
by Robert M. Edsel

The Rape of Europa
by Lynn H. Nicholas

So once I knew Belladonna’s backstory, Jack and Lucy were heading to Italy to see if they could find their second chance at love.

If you enjoyed
The Lost Art of Second Chances
, please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon. Reviews are critical to helping a book succeed, especially for new authors. Please let other readers know what they can expect from Lucy and Jack’s love story.

Please out my other novels, including
Forever a Bridesmaid
,
Once a Bridesmaid
,
or
Never a Bridesmaid
.
Also, check out
Cupid’s Coffeeshop
, my romantic comedy series publishing one a month in 2016. Please come visit me at
www.Courtney-Hunt.com
and sign up for my email list. I’m also usually found on twitter at
@courtneyhunt71
, and would love to chat!

• 1 eggplant
  
• 1 zucchini
  
• 1 pepper
  
• 1 onion
  
• 8 ozs baby bella mushrooms
  
• 1 28-oz can of tomatoes.
  
• 2-4 cloves of minced garlic.
  
• Fresh herbs—oregano and basil
  
• Pinch of sugar
  

1) Peel eggplant and slice into rounds. Sprinkle kosher salt over rounds and set aside for 15 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, chop zucchini and pepper into 1 inch-sized pieces. Chop onion.

3) Rinse eggplant and salt opposite side for fifteen minutes, then rinse and sauté with vegetables.

4) Heat oil and sauté all vegetables with garlic until soft.

5) Place veggies in a large stockpot and pour tomatoes over them. Add herbs of choice (oregano and basil are always good choices!) and a pinch of sugar. Let sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, for between 2 and 3 hours.

6) Serve over favorite pasta. Also freezes beautifully.